platinum

platinum

(plăt`ənəm), metallic chemical element; symbol Pt; at. no. 78; at. wt. 195.084; m.p. 1,772&degC;; b.p. 3,827±100&degC;; sp. gr. 21.45 at 20&degC;; valence +2 or +4. Pure platinum is a malleable, ductile, lustrous, silver-white metal with a face-centered cubic crystalline structure. Chemically inactive, it is unaffected by common acids but dissolves in aqua regiaaqua regia[Lat.,=royal water], corrosive, fuming yellow liquid prepared by mixing one volume of concentrated nitric acid with three to four volumes of concentrated hydrochloric acid......Click the link for more information., forming chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6). It is attacked by the halogens, sulfur, or caustic alkalies. It does not combine with oxygen even at high temperatures. Like palladium, it absorbs large quantities of hydrogen, which it releases at red heat.

Platinum is found in nature alloyed with the other metals of the so-called platinum group, found in Group 10 of the periodic tableperiodic table,chart of the elements arranged according to the periodic law discovered by Dmitri I. Mendeleev and revised by Henry G. J. Moseley. In the periodic table the elements are arranged in columns and rows according to increasing atomic number (see the table entitled.....Click the link for more information.; the other five metals in this group are iridiumiridium, metallic chemical element; symbol Ir; at. no. 77; at. wt. 192.217; m.p. about 2,410&degC;; b.p. about 4,130&degC;; sp. gr. 22.55 at 20&degC;; valence +3 or +4......Click the link for more information., osmiumosmium, metallic chemical element; symbol Os; at. no. 76; at. wt. 190.23; m.p. 3,045±30&degC;; b.p. 5,027±100&degC;; sp. gr. 22.57 at 20&degC;; valence usually +0 to +8......Click the link for more information., palladiumpalladium[Gr. Pallas, goddess of wisdom], metallic chemical element; symbol Pd; at. no. 46; at. wt. 106.42; m.p. 1,554&degC;; b.p. 2,970&degC;; sp. gr. 12.02 at 20&degC;; valence +2, +3, or +4......Click the link for more information., rhodiumrhodium, metallic chemical element; symbol Rh; at. no. 45; at. wt. 102.90550; m.p. about 1,966&degC;; b.p. 3,727±100&degC;; sp. gr. 12.41 at 20&degC;; valence +2, +3, +4, +5, or +6......Click the link for more information., and rutheniumruthenium, metallic chemical element; symbol Ru; at. no. 44; at. wt. 101.07; m.p. about 2,310&degC;; b.p. about 3,900&degC;; sp. gr. 12.41 at 20&degC;; valence commonly +2, +3, +4, +6, or +8......Click the link for more information.. These metals are found in alluvial deposits in Russia, South Africa, Colombia, and Alaska. Platinum and the related metals are recovered commercially as a byproduct of the refining of nickel ores mined near Sudbury, Ont., Canada; from gold mines in South Africa; and from the alluvial deposits in Russia. There is no routine method for separating platinum from other metals; it is usually recovered by complex chemical methods.

Platinum has many uses. Its wear- and tarnish-resistance characteristics are well-suited for making fine jewelry. Platinum and its alloys are used in surgical tools, laboratory utensils, electrical resistance wires, and electrical contact points. The most important of the alloys are those with iridium. The International Prototype Kilogram, kept at Sèvres, France, is a cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy, and the standard definition of a meter for a long time was based on the distance between two marks on a bar of platinum-iridium. Platinum is also used in the definition of the Standard Hydrogen Electrode (a reference for determining cell voltages). Because its thermal coefficient of expansion is nearly equal to that of glass, platinum is used to make electrodes sealed in glass. It is used extensively in dentistry and a platinum-osmium alloy is used in implants such as pacemakers and replacement valves. A platinum-cobalt alloy is used to make very powerful magnets.

Platinum is specially prepared for use as a catalystcatalyst,substance that can cause a change in the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being consumed in the reaction; the changing of the reaction rate by use of a catalyst is called catalysis......Click the link for more information.. Finely divided, the metal is platinum black, a powder. It also may be used as platinum sponge, formed when platinic ammonium chloride, (NH4)2PtCl6, is ignited, or as platinized asbestos, prepared by heating asbestos after dipping it in chloroplatinic acid. Platinum catalysts are used in the contact process for producing sulfuric acid, in the Ostwald process for the production of nitric acid, and in petroleum cracking, as well as in a variety of other reactions. Platinum is also used as a catalyst in fuel cells and in catalytic converters for automobiles.

Naturally-occurring platinum and platinum-rich alloys have been known since antiquity. Although there is evidence that the metal was used in the Americas in pre-Columbian times, the first European reference to platinum appears in 1557 as a description of a mysterious metal found in Central American mines. When the Spanish first encountered the metal, they regarded it as an undesirable impurity in the silver they were mining and often discarded it.

Modern knowledge of the metal dates from about 1736, when its existence in South America was reported by A. de Ulloa. Some of this platina [little silver], was taken to England, and soon thereafter many leading chemists published reports on it. A process discovered about 1803 by W. H. Wollaston for making the metal malleable made possible its commercial use for laboratory apparatus and other purposes. Although platinum was used as an adulterant for gold over a century ago, it is now considered the more valuable of the two.

Platinum

Pt, a chemical element of Group VIII of the Mendeleev periodic system. Atomic number, 78; atomic weight, 195.09. A heavy, high-melting metal. (For information on platinum, as well as on ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and iridium, which are accessory minerals of platinum in the earth’s crust and have similar properties, see; ; and .)

Platinum

(Platinum Technology, Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, IL, www.platinum.com) A major software vendor acquired by Computer Associates in 1999, with more than 160 data, systems and application software products to its credit. Founded in 1987, Platinum's key business areas were database and systems management, application life cycle, data warehousing, the Internet and Y2K compliance. Key alliances with HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and SAP helped the company expand to more than 40 countries.

With the new material, engineers might design fuel cells with smaller electrodes that contain only one-twentieth as much platinum as those in use now--reducing cost and boosting efficiency of the devices at the same time, the team predicts.

Mark Nordlicht, Chairman of Platinum Energy, said, "We believe that the restructuring of the transaction will provide additional value to Platinum Energy stockholders and to Tandem stockholders after the liquidation.

With Platinum II, consumers can confidently choose from a practical line of memory cards that will allow them to take advantage of the advanced features in their digital camera," said Jim Gustke, vice president and general manager of memory cards at Lexar.

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